Weights Approximately
8.5 Pounds And Is Loaded With 7 oz ff Black Powder For A Bursting Charge. The
Propelling Charge Is 2 Pounds of Cannon Grade Black Powder. This Projectile Was
Used Against Any Type of Fortification or in Siege Campaigns.

This Round Weighs 12
Pounds and is s Solid Ball. It was very effective as a psychological
weapon against massed infantry as it could actually penetrate thru 4 ranks of
infantry and cause fear in the last or 4th rank that was actually pushing the
1st rank forward toward the enemy. It was also used against fortifications
to batter down or breach the walls making an opening for the infantry to enter.
The propelling charge was 2.5 pounds of cannon grade black powder. The
average velocity of a 12 pdr projectile was around 900 fps with a range of 1800
yards.

84
round balls .69 Caliber and space for approximately 1 ounce of bursting charge
with 2.5 pounds of propelling powder. The ball was painted red for easy
identification in the field. Some manufacturers would paint the fuse red
instead of the entire ball. The bore and the breech are 4.62" in diameter.
Range was considered to be 1800 yards at 5% of elevation.

This is the same shell fired by the 12 pdr napoleon and the 12 pdr field
howitzer. It weighed Approx. 8.5 lbs. and held a 7 oz bursting charge. The fuse
was ignited by the 1/2 lb propelling charge which was precut to a specified time
of 1/4 second intervals up to 5.5 seconds. the Indians in the western theater
referred to the Mt Howitzer "The gun that fired twice" due to the bang of the
gun firing and the bang of the shell down range.

Contains 84 round ball of .69 Caliber and space for
approximately 1 ounce of bursting charge with 1/2 pound of propelling powder.
The ball was painted red for easy identification in the field. Some
manufacturers would paint the fuse red instead of the entire ball. The wooden
sabot is shaped to fit the reduced chamber of the howitzer barrel. The chamber
is 3.33" while the bore is 4.62" in diameter. Range was considered to be 800
yards. This short stubby gun fired the same ball as the 12 pdr gun and the 12
pdr field howitzer, but with less propelling powder, lower velocity and higher
elevation of arch in flight. The entire gun weight approximately 600 pounds.
It could be maneuvered by one horse or loaded onto 3 mules including ammunition
and carried over mountain passes.

The 6 pounder solid
shot was used in the same manner as the 12 pdr solid but with less powder.
By Gettysburg in July 1863, only one 6 pdr was present. It belonged to a
South Carolina unit. The 6 pdr just proved to be impotent compared to the
12 pdr. Early in the war, Robert E. Lee suggested that all 6 pdr replaced
with the 12 pdr. If enough metal was not available to cast the 12 pdr, the
6 pdr should be melted down and recast as 12 pdr. The propelling charge
was 1.25 lbs of cannon powder with a muzzle velocity of around 900 fps.

There is some
confusion over this round. Some of my research has revealed a hollow shell
with a powder charge of undisclosed amount while most photographs of X-Rayed or
dissected rounds show it to be similar to the 12 pdr spherical case. The
ordnance manual shows the 6 pdr spherical case round to be loaded with .5 oz.
powder as a bursting charge and 41 balls of .69 caliber. The ordnance
manual does not show a 6 pdr hollow shell. Range is 1600 yds at 5% of
elevation with a 1.25 lb propelling charge.

The "bolt" was the solid shot for
the rifled gun. It was used against any type of fortification or structure. Its
use against massed infantry was not as effective as the smoothbore solid shot.
The bolt did not bounce along the ground as the round ball smoothbore solid shot
would do but had a tendency to bury into the ground. Range on the 10 pdr rifle
with one pound of propelling charge was approximately 2200 yds with very good
accuracy. There were 20+ types of rifle projectiles produced during the Civil
War as the rifled cannon was new technology and required experimentation to
determine the best configuration of projectile. The 2.9" bore rifled cannon was
introduced in 1861 and removed from the field and rebored to 3" following the
acceptance of the 3" rifle in 1863. This created a standardization of ammunition
to 3" projectiles for all 10 pdr rifles. There are many recorded instances of
artillery units going into combat and finding they had 3" guns and 2.9"
ammunition which ruined accuracy. Or worse yet a 2.9" gun with 3" ammunition
which was unfirable. This standardization helped with the logistics of supplying
ammunition for the rifled guns. Issued with the rifle round was a powder bag
containing one pound of cannon grade powder. Loading of the rifle was done in a
double stroke method consisting of ramming the powder bag into the chamber then
repeating the process with the projectile. More time was consumed to load
each round than the smooth bore but the range was in excess of one mile so it
was not a matter of concern until the final charge of massed infantry was at
hand. Alas the muzzle loading rifle reached its apex of serviceability in a
short span of less than 20 years as the breech loading rifles were developed and
accepted by the 1880's.

The rifle shell was also in the 2.9"
or 3" caliber until standardization was implemented. The shell weighted up to 9
lbs 8 oz. with each type weighting different. I have been unable to determine
the exact amount of powder used for a bursting charge but it appears to be
around 8 oz. for the average 10 pdr shell. Keep in mind that these rounds are
close in representation to the Parrott round, but are not exact reproductions
due to keeping the price in line. For the purist they are not correct, but for
the person wanting to experience the art of war and the historian performing a
living history for the masses, they are very close. The fuse plug I have chosen
is the screw in plug for the paper fuse as this was the standard for the
beginning of the Civil War. There were more types of fuses than types of
artillery shells developed during the war. Accuracy on the 10 pdr rifle was very
good and range was approximately 2200 yds. The shell was used against any type
of fortification, structure, infantry, or for counter battery work.

Powder bags are
available for the 2.9" and 3" ten pound rifle as well as the 3.67" or 20 pound
rifle. Larger bags available upon request. The bags are the correct
weight, diameter, and design for loading semi-fixed rounds for the rifle.